On the 4th of July, after the fireworks, I came across Drunk History: Washington, D.C., three stories from DC’s history, all told by drunk young men. The episode told the stories of Deep Throat – the Watergate informant, the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, and when Elvis decided he wanted a DEA badge and asked Nixon if he could have one. Truth be told, the Lincoln assassination segment was the best – Adam Scott played John Wilkes Booth and the drunk narrator was an awesome bro. But the Nixon/Elvis segment had some information with which I was not familiar. Here is a little clip I found:
Drunk History: Elvis Meets Nixon – YouTube.
I knew, of course that Elvis and President Nixon had met, and that Nixon had given him a Drug Enforcement badge, but hadn’t thought about it in depth. It seemed like there might be some insanity there for me to explore. I found Igor Kultina’s When Nixon Met Elvis. I hesitate to call it a book. It is 44 pages of letters and mostly first person accounts of the meeting and the events surrounding the meeting. I won’t spoil the crazy for those of you who don’t know the story. Here is a little excerpt from Elvis’ letter to the President requesting the meeting:
I will be here as long as it takes to get the credentials of a Federal Agent. I have done an in-depth study of drug abuse and Communist brainwashing techniques and I am right in the middle of the whole thing where I can and will do the most good. I am Glad to help just so long as it is kept very Private.
I can’t really give this a star rating. I will be looking for more on this moment in history. Sometimes truth really is stranger than fiction.
Cannonball Read V 
Two great guys.